Proton launches its own encrypted alternative to Excel and Google Sheets | usagoldmines.com

Swiss technology company Proton has been building up a wide range of privacy-centered productivity apps over the years, from Proton Mail for email and Proton VPN for encrypted connections to Proton Pass for password management and Proton Drive for cloud storage.

Now Proton is bolstering its office offerings with Proton Sheets, the newly launched online spreadsheet software that’s part of Proton Drive. This alternative to Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets has one big selling point: its built-in end-to-end encryption that prevents anyone—including Proton itself—from accessing the data in your spreadsheets.

Anyone with a Proton Drive account can use Proton Sheets for free. Proton Drive offers a free plan with 5GB of storage, with paid plans for more storage capacity: 200GB Drive Plus is $4.99/month, 500GB Proton Unlimited is $12.99/month, and 2TB Proton Duo is $19.99/month.

In addition to cloud storage, Proton Drive also includes Proton Docs (the encrypted word processor) and Proton Photos (the encrypted photo organizer). With Sheets, Proton is becoming a real threat for both Microsoft and Google, especially with growing privacy concerns among users who want to decouple from today’s data giants.